THE MINERAL QUETZALCOATLITE

Chemistry: Zn₈Cu₄(TeO₃)₃(OH)₁₈, Zinc Copper Tellurite Hydroxide
Class: Sulfates
Subclass: Tellurites
Uses: A very minor ore of tellurium and as mineral specimens.
Specimens

Quetzalcoatlite is a very rare and an unusual mineral from Mexico. The bright blue translucent mineral is named for the Aztec God: Quetzalcoatl (which means "Feathered Serpent"). Another Mexican mineral named for a God is tlalocite which is named for the Aztec Rain God: Tlaloc. Some other minerals named for gods include aegirine, after Aegir (the Scandinavian god of the sea) and neptunite, after Neptune (the Roman god of the sea). There are no hard and fast rules for naming minerals, except that the first name is the official name (generally). Minerals are named after their areas of discovery (or type locality, see franklinite); their discover or a scientist of noteworthy proportions (see smithsonite or weloganite); their typical crystal forms (see tetrahedrite) and minerals have even been named for their chemistries (see cavansite). But few minerals have been named after gods.

Quetzalcoatlite is one of several different, but all rare tellurium minerals that come from the Moctezuma area of Sonora, Mexico. There are three formerly prolific mines from this area that have provided science with many new tellurium minerals. They are the Bambollita Mine, the Moctezuma Mine and the San Miguel Mine. The Bambollita Mine has also been known as the La Oriental Mine and is the type locality for Quetzalcoatlite. The Moctezuma Mine has also been known as the La Bambolla Mine; which is often confused with the Bambollita Mine, as one might imagine. Below is an incomplete list of tellurium minerals from the Moctezuma area.

Tellurium Minerals From The Moctezuma Area Mines:

Mineral:	Chemistry:	Mineral:	Chemistry:
Altaite	Lead Telluride	Mroseite	Calcium Tellurium Carbonate Oxide
Bambollaite	Copper Selenide Telluride	Paratellurite	Tellurium Oxide
Benleonardite	Silver Antimony Arsenic Telluride Sulfide	Poughite	Hydrated Iron Tellurite Sulfate
Burckhardtite	Hydrated Lead Iron Manganese Tellurium Aluminum Silicate Hydroxide	Quetzalcoatlite	Zinc Copper Tellurite Hydroxide
Carlfriesite	Calcium Tellurite	Schmitterite	Uranyl Tellurite
Cervelleite	Silver Telluride Sulfide	Sonoraite	Hydrated Iron Tellurite Hydroxide
Choloalite	Hydrated Lead Copper Tellurite	Spiroffite	Manganese Tellurite
Cliffordite	Uranium Tellurite	Tellurite	Tellurium Oxide
Cuzticite	Hydrated Iron Tellurate	Tellurium	native Te
Denningite	Calcium Manganese Zinc Tellurite	Tetradymite	Bismuth Telluride Sulfide
Emmonsite	Hydrated Iron Tellurite	Tlalocite	Hydrated Copper Zinc Tellurate Chloride Hydroxide
Eztlite	Hydrated Iron Lead Tellurate Hydroxide	Tlapallite	Calcium Lead Copper Zinc Sulfate Tellurate
Mackayite	Iron Tellurite Hydroxide	Xocomecatlite	Copper Tellurate Hydroxide
Moctezumite	Lead Uranyl Tellurite	Zemannite	Hydrated Magnesium Zinc Iron Tellurite

THE PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF QUETZALCOATLITE:

Color is a bright blue.
Luster is vitreous.
Transparency: Crystals are translucent.
Crystal System is hexagonal; 6 2 2.
Crystal Habits include small granular crystals.
Cleavage is good.
Hardness is 3.
Specific Gravity is approximately 6.1 (very heavy for translucent minerals)
Streak is white.
Associated Minerals include tellurium minerals such as dugganite and khinite and various other tellurates and tellurites Also associated with gold.
Notable Occurrences are limted to the Bambollita Mine (La Oriental), Sierra La Huerta, Moctezuma, Sonora, Mexico and at least one specimen was found at the Old Guard Mine, Tombstone, Arizona.
Best Field Indicators are locality, color, density and cleavage.